MEXICO.- Yesterday, Spanish journal "El Mundo" revealed a possible link between former chief of Mexico's President, Enrique Peña Nieto's presidential campaign, Gabino Antonio Fraga Peña, and a series of illicit operations that summed up the transfer of 445,000 euros from Mexico to the Bank of Spain. This is a case that is under current investigation by the Spanish authorities as possible money laundering, setting its eyes once more on international press regarding the matter of corruption and impunity of the Mexican system.

According to the digital version of the journal, Peña's former Regional Coordinator of Obligations of 2012, is under the radar of the Executive Branch for the Prevention of Money Laundering (Sepblac) after pointing out that as one of the clients " he had made suspicious actions, which were not controlled with an anti money laundering norm agreement" by any of the Bank of Madrid regulators.

The original source highlights that given Gabino Fraga's background, the financial institution would have had to watch with dedicated attention, each movement of the former councilor, due to the fact that in 2012 he was accused of "participating in the montage of a scheme of irregular financing", known in Mexico as the Monex case, while he coordinated the campaign of presidential candidate for PRI.

In that manner, one of the men who led Peña Nieto to presidency, is now being accused of managing funds of illegal origin, alongside other clients from a political circle in Venezuela, Russia and Spain.

After the severe omission on behalf of Bank of Madrid, were they didn't investigate the origin of the money received by their clients, the bank will be punished while at the same time Sepblac takes on the case "to examine with special attention every operation our pause of complex or unusual behavior that doesn't have an apparent economic or licit purpose, which will present signs of simulation or fraud" as established by the law on article number 17.

Regarding the matter, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has denied that Fraga was chief coordinator during the 2012 elections. Instead, through a newsletter they stated that the subject in question "took on some exclusive activities" and that "PRI does not have any professional link with him or any of the referred companies". During this article, they separated from any responsibility that this may cause them or the president.

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